MaRINET2

The EU has invested €10.5 million to the second phase of the transnational, multi-million euro initiative, MaRINET2, which aims to help industry accelerate the development of offshore renewable energy technologies and infrastructure by opening up access to 57 test facilities across 13 European countries, including the hydrodynamics and ocean engineering tank (HOET) and the sea test site SEMREV, both run by the LHEEA from Centrale Nantes.

The project is coordinated by MaREI, the Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy, at University College Cork.

MaRINET2 is a network of 39 partners, involving research centres and organisations who work together to progress offshore renewable energy technologies such as wave, tidal and offshore-wind. This pan-European network will provide marine energy development companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups and researchers with fully-funded access to marine energy experts and the world’s leading wave, tidal and offshore-wind test facilities.

In total, over 700 weeks of access were made available in the first MaRINET project with 178 projects and 800 companies over the 4.5-year initiative which ended in 2016. The MaRINET project provided access to the HOET tank at ECN to a number of users including FPP (hybrid wind-wave), CorPower (wave energy), TFI (moorings), Nemos (wave energy), InnWind (floating wind), WRAM (wave energy), Wavesax (wave energy).

MaRINET2 is now building on this success, increasing from 29 partners in 11 countries in the first MaRINET cycle, to 39 partners representing 59 testing and research facilities across 13 countries in this second phase running from 2017 to 2021.

The first call for access will open mid-April 2017. Applications will be made through a users’ portal to be found on the Marinet2 website.

Hoping to see you soon for model/prototype testing in our facilities.

Example of a project carried out at the hydrodynamics and ocean engineering tank during MARINET in 2015